Tuesday, 29 April 2008

All things must come to an end.... well... for my victims that is

You don't have to be crazy to be a Pirate, but it fucking helpsSometimes we make choices that aren't exactly healthy, engaging outnumbered is one of them but one that can reward like no other if succesful. Winning against the odds is still a thrill no matter how many times it happens and if you lose, well, it's one of those things.

It's not often I am confident enough to go in outnumbered anymore, there's just so many factors to consider:Are there more waiting in another system to jump in and turn the tide?Are they carrying EWAR?Are the cloaked ships in system with them?Will other Pirates jack me mid fight?

These along with other factors make the decision making tricky but sometimes you just have to say "Fuckit, let's roll"

I had been in Eifer for a bit in my Rupture, tweaking the new build, had already caught a lone Tristan pilot in a belt when a Typhoon was reported by my freind Jubes, him along with Prediction Pain were going to engage but as we were ready he warped to a gate to high security space. Jubes was still keen to engage as was I if he returned to the belts but I got distracted by a pair of cruisers that had entered system. I had narrowed them down to a belt and warped in, only to see them leave, the trails of hyperspace all that was left. I asked in the system comms channel if they would be interested in a 1 v 2 but they were hesistant that it would end up being a 20 v 2. Now, I am a man of honour, even though I am a Pirate and make my living off the misfortune of others. Honour is everything to a Pirate and moreso to me. My name and reputation mean everything and I would certainly not throw it away in such a cheap and underhanded manner.

I started to track my prey, warping to a planet near to the last reported sighting, setting my onboard scanner into a narrow arc, I zeroed in on their position. Patience, they had been in the belt for a bit and would soon warp out, the Thorax and Stabber class cruisers more than enough to deal with the local Angel Cartel. Sure enough the left and I once again narrowed them down, I activated my warp drive and headed on in, now or never, the Typhoon was going to have to wait.Normal space enveloped my ship as I burst ut of warp and my systems resolved to show I had landed right on top of the two, "Excellent" I thought to myself and I activated my lock on both targets. Thorax was primary, the Gallente cruiser able to deal massive damage at this range and needed to go first. Locks resolved and warp disruptor and stasis web set on the primary, guns activated along with some energy warfare mods. I launched a flight of light ECM drones and set them on the Stabber and went to work. My shields failed and my armor started taking damage but the Thorax was going down, Shields gone in an instant, his armour taking some time, certainly fitted with a 1600mm armour plate and then he was into his structure. Finally he exploded and I shifted the tackling gear onto the Stabber who had stayed in close. Guns spun up and spat out Barrage rounds at a furious rate, my ECM drones finally getting a cycle, I was at half armour but the fight was over, the Stabber exploding in a brilliant flash.

Pleasantries were exchanged in local, a genuinely good fight.One of the pilots left the system saying this:Marrl Shadowfall > owned

I scooped the loot and returned to my safespot above the central belt, I was at half armour with no repair systems fitted. Jubes reported he was engaging the Typhoon below me and needed help, I naturally warped straight in. The drones of the Typhoon were causing massive damage to Jubes even though Prediction had the massive battleship jammed. I launched my ECM drones and set them on him, any bit would help. Jubes Hurricane was taking a pounding and I was sitting 16 clicks off firing round after round of Barrage into the Typhoons armour, it was failing and soon it would pop. A great kill and props to Jubes, the man is an awesome combat pilot, one of the best I have ever encountered and I have massive respect for him.His favourite past time is killing nano HACs using his Hurricane which he does with alarming success.

The rest of the day didn't turn up much of note, a single Thrasher and then a Rifter and Slasher that had escaped me due to warp core stabilisers but were caught by a friend with a Stealth Bomber and I somehow made it onto the killmails.

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting

My night was completed when I spotted two plex runners in the Angel Complex, I know that one is in a Manticore and the other appeared to be in a Rifter. My primary target would be the Manticore who was no doubt cloaked inside. I warped in and took the bait Rifter on, waiting for the Manti to engage. The Rifter was fast and he easily kept range on me, making it difficult to get my stasis web on him to pin him down. He kept a constant 16km between me and him and I needed to think, Keira suggested undocking her Claymore, she had recently finished training for the Skirmish Warfare Mindlink and had just returned from having it surgically implanted. She undocked and formed fleet, warped to a safespot and activated her Interdiction Maneuvers and Rapid Deployment gang links on the commandship. By this point the dogfight had been 20 minutes of non stop action with me continually trying to intercept his orbit to get within web range.

With Keira's mods active the range of my tackling gear was increased as well as my speed, I was just as quick as he was now and I overheated the web for the extra range, once I had got within 16km it went active and it was all over in a flash, the Rifter unable to tank the damage even with a Complex shield booster. The pilot logged instantly to save his pod but was scanned out by a friend, unfortunately I was too high from the kill to think straight and waited too long to pod him and he vanished in space but was satisfied in an epic fight and kill. The Manticore never uncloaked

The loot was scooped and I docked up, desperatley needing a cigarette and a drink, the adrenaline is still flowing through my veins and I just know that once it wears off I will crash into my bunk and sleep a deep contented sleep.

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